...or could it be World Cup?

Maddy's first attempt at soccer wasn't the greatest, but we've all seen worse.

The video really doesn't show it much, but you could see the fire in her eyes when they dropped that ball. I REALLY think she was just giving the other kids a chance to get some experience in.

Next: The English Channel...

Here's the latest and greatest Maddy swimming video. She's really making some GREAT progress, but she needs to get her hands out in front of her for the rest of the strokes to come naturally.

Latest Quote: "Daddy, my tummy hurts from swimming."

Watch the video...you'll understand.

Maddy Game Day - Week 1

Maddy had her first game day yesterday. I signed her up for a nine week sports and speed / agility camp that is held at a local park by the Acworth Parks and Rec Department. There were about 20 kids and while we had a slow start, she really picked everything right up and was doing great at the end. They even had a boys vs. girls relay at the end...Maddy was a KEY player in the victory.

Here's a video of my daughter hopping through one of the mini-games they had set up.

Maddy Swimming

Some video of the next Olympic record holder in the "whatever she chooses to do" relay

Swinging

This is going to be a relatively boring post, because I don't have any pictures or video to back it up. There IS video, but unfortunately it ends with the large German Shepherd doing something that should never be filmed. Let's just say it required a large clean up effort. Here's a new picture of the two stars, though.
So I'm guessing that pretty much anyone with kids goes through this at some point. She's never been one to be scared of going too high on the swings and there are some special swings at our park that I can REALLY get her "to the sky" (as she puts it). But swinging has been a constant chore...like making candy...you always have to be there to stir the boiling molten lava that is the sugar mixture. Yes I'm comparing my child to a boiling pan of caro syrup because God help you if you fail to keep her as high as she likes!

Well, the other day I went to pick her up from daycare and there she was swinging like a champ ALL BY HERSELF. In my head, I fell to my knees as she yelled over to me "Look Daddy. I swing myself!" It never fails to amaze me how many things she just all of a sudden gets. Its like overnight, she wakes up the next morning and can play the oboe. I'll be happy with swinging for now.

Swimming

Here are some pictures from Maddy's first swimming lesson last week. She was crying for about 30 of the 45 minutes, but she was brave and did everything the instructor wanted her to do. She seems really excited to go again this week, so hopefully we've made it past the crying.

Maddy the Monkey

So lately, it seems like the cuteness that is the Madelyn has really shot ahead when it comes to climbing and jumping and playing on the local park's new-fangled jungle gym thingy. That's right...I said new-fangled. All we had was jagged metal, merry-go-rounds that would fling you to the moon, and cement...lots and lots of cement.

Anyway...here's a couple of pictured of my dearest monkey.

Maddy's Bed

I think a lot of you know that I got Maddy's bed at IKEA. I thought it would be a fun bed that would last her quite a while. When she was younger, the bed was pretty low to the ground. Even with that, every once in a while I would hear a little thump and have to put her back in the bed.
Well, one of the cool things I love about this particular bed is that it can flip over for a bunk bed feel with a little play area underneath. So I decided that this weekend would be it. Under the questioning gaze of my three year old, I flipped her bed. It was not until I put the mattress on top that she realized what was going on. After that it was pure excitement.
Last night was the first night she was able to sleep with the new configuration. I was a little nervous about the ladder and her falling off and this and that. And even after all the excitement from the weekend, she STILL wanted to lay down in my bed. I stood my ground and after a little fussing and whining, she finally climbed the ladder to the top.

I decided that I would check on her right before I went to bed just in case she was in a precarious spot. I found her with no covers, shivering and tucked up against the outer barrier with her leg thrown over the top. We'll see where she ends up tonight.

Artistic Expression

With apologies for my long hiatus, I give you some of Maddy's artistic expressions. This is a study of the human form with concentrations on the smiling face of her subject. Purchase inquiries can be made to Sotheby's auction house.

Clean Those Ears!

So, I called to talk to my daughter last night (as I sometimes do) and she happened to be in the bath. Mommy was going to let her talk anyway (a risk in itself considering the bath water), but all she could yell was "No! My ears aren't clean!"

Get those ears clean baby, and I will talk to you later.

Movie Star

Now generally I would say that these glasses appear to be something cheap...something that you would get out of...say...a happy meal. But on Maddy, they take on a new life. Could she be following in the footsteps of Bono? Who knows. What I do know is that she's destined for great things...even if destiny is going to need a little help along the way.

My super star:

The Dimensions of a King Sized Bed

According to About.com's Guide to Bed Sizes (here), the measurements for a standard king sized bed (like the one I happen to have in my bedroom) are 76 inches by 80 inches. Now, let's talk about that for a second. I'm a single guy...a king is plenty for me. I could even get by with anything bigger than a full and you would think a California King would be just plain overkill. You would think...

I admit. Blitz occasionally (OK...every night) hops up on the bed and lays down. But that lasts for MAYBE 10 minutes and then he's off patrolling the house and finding his spot on the cool tile of the kitchen. But even when my 100 pound baby boy is plopping his lanky body down on the bed, I always seem to have plenty of room.

And then there's the other member of the household. She's blond, blue eyed, and has captured the hearts of millions...maybe even BILLIONS. Yes...I'm talking about my baby girl, Madelyn Delaney McCoy. The heart of my heart, the finger of which I am wrapped, and the WORST BED STEALER I'VE EVER MET. Let me put it this way...if there were a professional sport for bed stealing, Maddy would be the MVP of the championship game. If bed stealing were an art, Maddy would have every gallery in the Louvre AND the Guggenheim filled with her paintings.

Now let's remember that the dimensions for a standard king sized bed are 76 inches by 80 inches and let's say the dimensions for my (almost) three year old are approximately 30 inches by 15 inches.

Taking all this into account, why then do I end up fighting the edge of the bed on one side and my sleeping angel on the other side when my baby decides to sneak into bed with me?

Sunset...Based on a True Story

The mommy and the little girl are traveling home together one October evening when the mommy turns to the little girl and says "Isn't that a pretty sunset Maddy?"

The little girl looks and says "Yes, mommy. My daddy make that for me."

Isn't that the sweetest thing? Plus the fact that the mommy actually told the daddy all this. :)

Adventures in Kansas

As some of you may know, Maddy and I were recently in Kansas for a Hermsen family reunion (although some of the McCoy's showed up too). Here are some of the adventures:

Paparazzi - Thought I would get this on the internet before it just started appearing. We were checking out of one of the thousands of Topeka WalMarts and my lovely daughter decides she is going to play with the "Wet Floor" sign. Well, everyone just thought it was SO cute and SO funny. All of a sudden, Maddy had a little crowd around her with their cell phone cameras out. Can't the press just LEAVE HER ALONE?!

Bouncy Thing - Now, I've taken Maddy to Chuck Cheese (as she says it) and Kangaroo Joe's, but nothing, it seems, compared to the filthy, mouse chewed bouncy thing that was available to her in my Mother's back yard. Cousin Stan's bouncy thing had been in storage for quite a while and it could barely stay up from all the holes (forget about TWO people bouncing), but every morning was "I jump now, Daddy? I jump now?"

Baby Goats - I had suggested to my mother that we spend the day in Kansas City when we arrived, so she did some research and found the Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead. It is an operational farm that is supported entirely by donations. We spent nearly four hours there just wandering around petting sheep and GIANT cows, feeding baby goats, and looking at the huge Koi the had in one of the ponds. I was going to send her on a pony ride, but I couldn't walk with her and I don't know if she realizes how far down it is from the top of a pony. The highlight of the jouney was when Grandpa Joe grabbed a rooster and tossed it back into its pen. Talk about exciting!

New Socks - Maddy, being the brilliant and imaginative little girl that she is, decided to take Grandpa Joe's new bag of socks and make a toy. So, with Daddy's help, we got socks all the way up to her shoulders and to about halfway up her leg (over her PJs) and she danced around for about 20 minutes.

Coming Home - I think the trip really wore her out. As soon as the plane took off, my daughter's head was drifting down...down...down. I had to find a blanket to put on the arm rest because she kept bumping her head (even though she never really woke up).

My Tiny Dancer and Debate

I've been having a tiny debate inside my head. Its kinda hard to hear with all the other voices, but here's the summary as I have it so far.

I can:
1) Not post pictures of my baby in her dance outfit and have my mother beat me. Cons? The beating. Pros? My mother would have to actually visit.

2) I can post pics of my beautiful little girl in her dance regalia and let the masses adore the cuteness. Cons? No mother visit. Pros? No beating and mass enjoyment.

I don't know if the debate's done, but I think you can see what I've chosen. So, masses. Here she is. I can only think that this is what my sister was probably like when she went to ballet class and my father and I went and played video games.

Unconditional Love

OK, let me put it out there first and foremost...I know my daughter is not a dog, but right now, there's an unconditional love that just comes included with a two year old. You don't pay extra...you don't have to go through a big list of options and worry that you forgot to check "unconditional love" at closing. Sure...she gets mad and she has her fits, but even if I'm just in the other room for a while and she hasn't seen me, she will yell "DADDY" and come running with her arms wide open and a huge smile on her face.

Will she still love me when she's 12? I would assume so. I just think I'm going to miss the exuberance and the openness of it once she knows how to follow the "rules of society."

Terrible twos are nothing...I am preparing for the terrible teens!

Barbecue Forks: Only For Monsters

So, I started writing this post a couple weeks ago and in the time that I've been lazy and up to no good (at least not writing the blog), things have evolved. So here's the story:

Maddy and I were downstairs finishing lunch or something and all of a sudden, I see her wandering around with the extremely large (probably only seems that way since she's so tiny) and pointy fork from my grill. Now, I don't know how it got in the house and I don't know how she got a hold of it, but all of a sudden, here's my two year old waving around a deadly weapon with Blitz and I the next possible victims of her deadly slashing attack.

In my best patient and fatherly tone (I think everyone knows what that sounds like), I said "Maddy, give Daddy the fork. I don't want you to hurt yourself." Now, we all have battles that we know we could fight and simply choose to battle for something more important. Apparently, Maddy was thinking that giving up the fork would make room for a floor sprawling temper tantrum in Target on a future date because she simply thought for a moment and then presented the fork to me as a knight would present a sword to a king (I'm just making that part up).

I said "Baby, I don't want you to hurt yourself or anyone else with this. We don't poke people or Blitz or anyone with things like this." And here's where it broke down..."just monsters."

Maddy: "Just monters?"
Daddy: "Yes. Just monsters."

This was followed by a quick scan of the room from Maddy, a sudden widening of the eyes, her finger shooting out at the end of her stiff, straight little arm and an exclamation of "monter dair!" otherwise known as "monster there."

Daddy: "Where's a monster?"
Maddy: "Dair!" (pointing to a spot behind the couch)
Daddy: (with fork armed hand over the couch) "Poke poke poke."
And so went the afternoon.

It has now evolved into imaginary forks and both of us "poke poke poke" ing the monsters whenever we see them.

Coming Soon: "IT NOT DANCE, DADDY! IT BALLET!"

The Faces of Madelyn McCoy

Maddy and the Big Girl Bed

I don't know if anyone was aware or not, but for the last few weeks, my all-too-grown-up daughter has been sleeping in her brand new BIG GIRL BED! That's right...we have a new head pillow and a new Dora and Boots pillow and the large blue Sleepy Time Care Bear sleeps with her so the "monters" don't get her.

For the time being, after our usual Wiggles or Spongebob adventure and after I, in stealing a tradition from my sister and her kids, "charge" the stars in her room, I take her in and lay her down, put her little sheet and blanket on her, and sit down by her side and sing her some songs until she's asleep. At first, she names the songs she wants to hear...Twinkle Twinkle, Spider (as in "Itsy Bitsy"), ABCs...but when she gets sleepier, she just keeps saying "more, Daddy" and then she's gone.

We're (me and myself) currently looking for some kind of little lamp so I can lay with her and start reading some real bedtime stories (which I can't tell you all how excited I am). As my sister will probable only know, in the same tradition as the Gloops, Gurgi, and The Hobbit, I hope I can instill the same kind of magical wonder for those books that my parents instilled in my sister and I, all the while hearing "one more chapter" and then "one more page" and then, finally, defeat.

She's been such a good girl and stays in her bed all night. Even after she wakes up and starts calling for me (and the Blitz), we find her sitting up in the middle of her sheet and blanket, hair spiking every which way, and her little smile looking forward to the new day with "her guys" (as she calls them) at school.